Business Challenge
Crane Worldwide Logistics needed to find a technology solution to serve as the backbone for their new managed transportation business unit. As a massive provider of other logistics services, Crane had technologies in place for their freight and brokerage divisions. However, these technologies were broker-only platforms, which lacked the 3PL functionality and scalability that Crane required for managed transportation services.
The Crane team had previous experience with other full-service TMS platforms and wanted a solution they could configure to their needs while maximizing their value and ROI. Crane also wanted a technology that let them scale globally to support their customers worldwide.
Solution
Crane began their search for TMS providers and selected 3G Transportation Software because of the platform’s functionality, configurability, and overall support from the 3G team. “We picked 3G because we felt a strong sense of partnership and felt that 3G would move faster than other providers. We also knew everything was included out of the box and that we wouldn’t have to pay separately for every module,” said Brian Shipley, Vice President of Digital Products at Crane. “We wanted the capabilities to configure the system to our workflows and have access to the 3G hub for our own integration work. We also wanted to create our own templates for BOLs. For us, it was a pretty easy decision from a cost perspective as we get the same amount of functionality compared to other providers while enabling our employees to do a lot of the work ourselves without paying for outside consultants to do the work for us.” Crane wanted a solution that they could make their own for both themselves and their customers and knew they could get that with 3G.
“We wanted a platform and partner that was flexible and malleable where we could set up a control tower to move freight with our internal employees or if a customer wanted to manage freight on their own,” Shipley said. “It really came down to one other provider and 3G, but we felt a tighter bond with 3G. With the other provider, it’s their way or the highway, and we would have very little say in what we wanted or how our platform could be configured.”
Results & Outcomes
After implementing 3G Transportation, Crane experienced a successful launch of their new managed transportation business unit and plan for significant future expansion. “The leadership team at Crane is smitten with 3G, they see the growth that the platform has enabled,” Shipley remarked.
After a year of using the platform, Crane experienced a 100% increase in their managed transportation business unit, facilitated exclusively by 3G Transportation Software. Shipley explained that “with all that growth, we’ve only had to hire one additional resource because we can process more loads through automation and by setting up customer profiles. If we were on a legacy platform, we would probably only be able to process 1/3 of that amount.”
Within the solution, Crane executes full truckloads, LTL, and permit moves. While also offering unique accessorials like international customs brokerage entrance services. They use the system’s planning optimization for multi-stop and freight consolidation. For example, Crane maximizes revenues by using 3G to capture demand and create full truckloads from that demand to pass internally to their freight business unit.
Crane also implemented 3G Transportation’s Quick Ship Portal for a self-service option where Crane customers execute shipments on their own. The level of customer adoption exceeded Crane’s expectations and delivered a whole new way for their team to provide services. “It’s been a big success so far,” Shipley said. “After just starting, the growth in Quick Ship Portal volume increased 500% between months one and two. It’s great from our customers’ perspective because there isn’t a time or money commitment, and they can use it at will.”
In addition to all North American managed transportation services, Crane expanded the use of 3G to the Caribbean, Latin America, and Europe. Crane leverages 3G for client-specific work in areas like Trinidad and Tobago and Argentina, where Crane’s customers gain greater visibility into the final freight legs of ocean shipments coming onshore.
In Europe, Crane uses 3G for their internal freight services where the platform replaced very manual processes. Before, the Crane team called carriers directly or used other archaic systems. The EMEA team had very little visibility and paperwork wasn’t exchanged outside of email. Now they have full TMS automation and functionality. “The reception in Europe has been over the moon. We plan to roll out 3G Transportation for managed ground throughout the continent,” Shipley exclaimed. As Crane continues growing their managed transportation business unit, they intend to use more 3G functionality to drive value and provide their customers with the best possible service. “The go-forward plan is to deploy 3G as an orchestration engine to gather demand from customers and use the TMS to decide which internal system or group will execute that shipment,” Shipley remarked. “We have big plans with 3G. It will be the backbone for ground in the next 12-18 months.
About Crane Worldwide Logistics
Crane Worldwide Logistics was founded in 2008 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas. Crane is a leader in supply chain solutions with 120 locations across 30 countries, and they provide air, ocean, and road-based freight and contract logistics solutions. They have specific freight, brokerage, and managed transportation business units. Since Crane is based in the gulf coast, they have many customers within consumptive industries, particularly oil and gas.
